Mounting jig for electrical outlet boxes

ABSTRACT

A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes to building wall and ceiling members having a three sided open loop section adapted to grasp a wall of an outlet box, an alignment arm section extending from the loop section to align the box and jig on a building member, and a leg member section extending from adjacent the arm section to hold the jig and box on a building member.

. United States Patent [1 1 3,759,505 Callanan [4 1 Sept. 18,1973

MOUNTING JIG FOR ELECTRICAL 3,588,083 6/1971 Callanan 269/98 OUTLETBOXES 1,047,794 12/1912 Griner 269/98 1,049,803 1/1913 Boyer 269/98 [76]Inv nt r: J p Ca an, 382 Homeland 3,434,686 3/1969 Aoi 269/254 R D12,Whitman, Mass. 2,155,627 4/1939 Welch 220/36 [22] Filed: Nov. 25, 1970{21] Appl 92,871 Primary Examiner-Harold D. Whitehead AssistantExaminer-E. F. Desmond Related Appllcauon Data Attorney-Curtis, Morris &Safford [62] Division of Ser. No. 772,566, Nov. 1, 1968, Pat. No.

r [52] US. Cl. 269/98, 24/73 B, 211/71, [57] ABSTRACT 269/254 R A jigfor mounting electrical outlet boxes to building [511 lift. Cl B25115/14 wall and ceiling members i g a thrge sided p [58] Field of Search269/95, 98, 254 R; 1 section d d to grasp a wall of an outlet box,

220/3 L; 24/261 738; 211/7143 an alignment arm section extending fromthe loop section to align the box and jig on a building member, and aleg member section extending from adjacent the arm [56] References C'tedsection to hold the jig and box on a building member.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 381,608 4/1888 Beisonhert 269/98 X 9 Claims, 11Drawing Figures PATENTEB SEP I 81915 FIG./

PAIENIEB SEP i a ma SHEETS or 3 .All

MOUNTING JIG FOR ELECTRICAL OUTLET BOXES This application is a divisionof my copending application Ser. No. 772,566 filed Nov. 1, I968, nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,588,084 issued June 28, 1971.

This invention relates to a device for mounting electrical outlet boxes,and more particularly to a sturdy, inexpensive, one-piece or two-piecere-usable jig that quickly and easily can be slipped onto an electricaloutlet box with which it can be mounted on a stud or joist of a buildingunder construction to align the box accurately for securing the box tothe stud or joist, and then readily can be removed from the box andbuilding member.

Outlet boxes ordinarily are mounted in new buildings, for examplehouses, on wall studs or ceiling joists over which a lath and plaster ora dry-wall construction is placed to form the interior walls orceilings. The open end of the box, into which later is placed a fixture,receptacle or switch, must extend outwardly from the stud or joist anamount about equal to the wall or ceiling thickness so that the exposedportion of the box will be flush with the wall or ceiling. Also, the boxmust be aligned vertically orhorizontally so the edges of the openingproject an equal distance from the front face of the stud.

Hand mounting of electrical boxes is difficult and time consumingbecause at least one hand must be used to hold the box as it is secured,e.g., by nails, to the stud or joist. The box often slips, orinadvertently is moved by the workers hand, and is misaligned. A housemight have as many as 20 or more electrical outlets, so that the timeinvolved properly to hand mount the outlet boxes, and to re-mountmisaligned ones, is considerable.

Numerous devices have been created to align or to hold and alignelectrical outlet boxes as they are secured to building members. Manysuchdevices have been patented, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,634,No. 2,990,172 and No. 3,154,304. In general, however, the previousdevices have serious shortcomings. Some are permanently affixed to thebox, stud or joist, and thus are not re-usable. Others areof relativelycomplex construction, having a multiplicity of parts many of which aremovable, and thus bothexpensive to make and very subject to wear andbreakage.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved mounting jigfor electrical outlet boxes. Another object of this invention is toprovide an outlet box mounting jig that is readily attached to the box,simple to place on a buildingmember, accurately and positively alignsand holds the box against a stud or joist, and is easily removed fromboth the box and building member for re-use, all in a comparativelyshort amount of time. A further object of this invention is to provide ajig of the type described that has a relatively simple design andunitary construction or without a multiplicity of parts, particularlymovingparts. These and other objects of this invention will be in partdiscussed in, and in part apparent from, the following more detaileddisclosure.

The present invention can be understood more thoroughly by reference tothe accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer tocorresponding elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective and shows an embodiment of an electrical outletbox mounting jig according to this invention;

FIG. 2 isa partial section and shows the jig of FIG. I and its relationto an outlet box;

FIG. 3 is a partial section and shows an outlet box mounted and alignedon a building member by the jig of FIG. 1; l

FIGS. 4 and 5 are elevations and show modifications of a portion of thejig of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective and shows another embodiment of an electricaloutlet box mounting jig according to this invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial section and shows the jig of FIG. 6 and its relationto an outlet box;

FIG. 8 is a partial section and shows an outlet box mounted and alignedon a building member by the jig of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective and shows another embodiment of an electricaloutlet box mounting jig according to this invention;

FIG. l0is a partial section and shows the jig of FIG. 9 and its relationto an outlet box;

FIG. 11 is a partial section and shows an outlet box mounted and alignedon a building member by the jig of FIG.9.

Broadly, a jig 10 according to this invention has an i open loop section12 that is adapted to extend over and embrace an edge 14 of one sidewall 16 of an electrical outlet box 15 (partially shown in thedrawings). The open loop 12 of the jig 10is pressed over the wall edge16 until the closed end 18 of the loop is uniformly against the edge14.-The sides 20,22 of the open loop 12 press against the sides of thewall 16 and firmly hold thebox 15. The loop 12 fits over the wall edge14 an amount X equal to the distance the outlet box 15 is to project outfrom the face 24b of a building member 24 such as a stud orjoist, i.e.,the thickness of the interior wall or ceiling construction to be placedon the building member. The sides 22 of the open loop section can beformed in any convenient manner, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, so that theyextend down from the closed end I8'the distance X and are spaced fromside walls 20 an amount to receive box edge 14 tightly.

Extending from one side 22 of the open loop section 12 is an alignmentarm 26. The plane of the arm is substantially parallel to the plane ofthe closed end 18 of the loop 12. To align a box 15 on a buildingmember, the box is placed against one side 24a of the member 24 and thealignment arm 26 of the jig is pushed flush against the outer face 24bofthe member. Thus the periphery 14,140 of the open end of the boxuniformly projects the desired distance X beyond the stud or joist, andthe box is accurately and positively aligned for mounting.

To hold an aligned box 15 against a building member 24 during mounting,a leg member 28 extends from ad jacent the arm 26 at an end thereof. Theleg member 28 serves to apply pressure against the side 240 of the studor joist opposite the side wall 16 of the box 15, and thus, in effect,to clamp the box 15 and jig 10 to the stud or joist. Mounted in thatfashion, the outlet box can be fastened to a building member withouthaving to hold the box by hand.

For each of placing the open loop section 12 over the side wall edge 14of the box 15, a tab section 30 optionally extends from the side wall 20of the loop 12 opposite the arm 26. The tab section 30 also serves toprevent any tendency of the box 15 to rotate, in the loop 12, away fromthe building member 24, and thus is a desirable feature of the instantjigs.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the leg member 28 isan integral part of the open loop section 12 and the alignment arm 26.That is, the jig 10 is of unitary construction with one or more legmembers 28 extending from the ends of the alignment arm or arms 26.

FIGS. 3, 8 and 11 illustrate the profile ofajig 10, on a box and abuilding member, in what can be called a distended holding condition.One end of the side wall 22 of the open loop 12 tends to close in towardthe other side wall 20. Inasmuch as the jig 10 is made of a strip of aresiliently flexible material, for example, a wire or rod of a springsteel or a synthetic plastic having similar properties, the side walls20,22 of the loop can be spread apart to receive the edge 14 of the boxwall 16 and, in that operative condition, exert a pressure against thebox wall to hold the box 15 firmly. Similarly, the leg member 28 issubstantially in a plane somewhat at less than a right angle to thealignment arm 26, and tends to close toward the loop 12. Thus it can bespread outwardly for positioning on a stud or joist 24 against which itexerts a pressure to hold the jig l and the box 15 firmly until the boxis fastened. Thereafter the jig is quickly and easily removed bygrasping the loop 12 and pulling the jig off both the stud or joist andthe box.

FIGS. 6 through 11 show other forms of the instant jigs l0a,l0b in whichthe leg member 28,28b is pivotally mounted so that it can be swung intoholding position against face 240 of the building member 24 after thejig and the box held thereby are aligned against faces 24a and 24b. Inthe embodiment of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the leg member 28a is pivotallymounted by any convenient means 32 adjacent the end of alignment arm 26aopposite the open loop section 12. In the embodiment of FIGS. 9, and 11,the leg member 28b is similarly mounted from an extension 29 by pivotmeans 320 adjacent the end of alignment arm 26b attached to the openloop section 12. It will be apparent that the alignmentarm 26b and theleg extension 29 can be a single piece, the pivoted end of the extensionserving to align the jig 10b and box against the face 24b of thebuilding member 24. The pivotal mounting of the leg member 28a, 28b ineach embodiment of the jig l0a,l0b is located in a manner such that, inthe holding position shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the leg member is in astressed or distended condition locked and bearing against the buildingmember 24. The leg members 28a,28b as previously mentioned, are of aflexibly resilient strip or rod material, preferably spring steel or thelike, so that in the distended condition of the holding position the legmembers exert a force against the building member 24 to hold the jigl0a,l0b and box 15 firmly in place. After the box 15 is fastened to thestud or joist, the jig 10a, 10b is quickly and easily removed bygrasping the loop 12 and pulling the jig ofi both the box and thebuilding member, with or without first swinging the leg member 28a,28baway from the stud or joist.

A feature ofa preferred embodiment of the invention also is illustratedin the drawings, e.g., FIG. 7. The side wall 22 of the open loop section12 attached to the arm section 26 and adapted to bear against theexterior face 16a ofthe wall ofan outlet box, has at the end adjacentthe arm 26 a portion 22a turned away from the opposite wall 20 of theloop. The line of the turn, or bend 34, in the wall corresponds to a lip36 around the periphery 14,14a, of the opening of many outlet boxes; Thelip 36 reinforces the opening, especially of boxes made of relativelybrittle material, such as Bakelite. As the loop 12 is passed over theedge 14 of the box 15, and the line of the turn 34 in the side wall 22passes beyond the lip 36, the box tends to snap into place in the loop.The snapping movement usually is accompanied by a distinct sound, oftena musical sound if the jig is made ofa metal such as steel. The snapmovement and the sound signal positively that the box 15 is firmly andproperly mounted in the jig 10.

It is of course to be understood that numerous changes can be made inthe design and structure of the jigs of this invention without departingfrom the scope of the invention as disclosed herein before and asdefined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes which comprises: an openloop section having a closed end, a first side wall extending from oneside of said closed end, a second side wall extending from the oppositeside of said closed end, said open loop being formed of a thin elongatedflexibly resilient material and adapted to fit over an edge of and tobear firmly against a side wall of an electrical outlet box to hold saidbox in said jig; an alignment arm extending laterally outward from oneof said side walls of said loop section and being adapted at least inpart to bear against the face of a building member to which said outletbox is to be fastened, said open loop section and said alignment armbeing a single piece of said flexibly resilient material bent to formsaid section and arm; and a leg member pivotally secured adjacent an endof said alignment arm and swingable to a holding position extending inthe direction of the open end of said open loop section, said leg memberbeing formed of a thin elongated flexibly resilient material and adaptedto bear in said holding position firmly against said building member onthe side thereof opposite an outlet box mounted in said jig and to holdsaid jig and said box onto said building member.

2. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1wherein said flexibly resilient material is a metal.

3. A jig formounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 2wherein said flexibly resilient material is steel.

4. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1wherein said second side wall of said open loop section extends from theclosed end thereof an amount substantially equal to a predetermineddistance said outlet box is to project out from said building member,and said alignment arm extends from adjacent an end of said second sidewall.

5. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1wherein said first and second side walls of said open loop section, inan undistended condition, are closer together at the open end of saidloop than adjacent said closed end thereof.

6. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1wherein a first portion of the side wall of said open loop section fromwhich said alignment arm extends is, in an undistended condition, atless than a right angle to said closed end of said loop, and a secondportion of said side wall is at an angle to said first portion away fromthe other of said side walls.

7. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 whichfurther comprises a tab section extending from the side wall of saidopen loop section op- I posite said alignment arm substantially in theplane of said side wall.

8. jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes accordto said open loopsection.

1. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes which comprises: an openloop section having a closed end, a first side wall extending from oneside of said closed end, a second side wall extending from the oppositeside of said closed end, said open loop being formed of a thin elongatedflexibly resilient material and adapted to fit over an edge of and tobear firmly against a side wall of an electrical outlet box to hold saidbox in said jig; an alignment arm extending laterally outward from oneof said side walls of said loop section and being adapted at least inpart to bear against the face of a building member to which said outletbox is to be fastened, said open loop section and said alignment armbeing a single piece of said flexibly resilient material bent to formsaid section and arm; and a leg member pivotally secured adjacent an endof said alignment arm and swingable to a holding position extending inthe direction of the open end of said open loop section, said leg memberbeing formed of a thin elongated flexibly resilient material and adaptedto bear in said holding position firmly against said building member onthe side thereof opposite an outlet box mounted in said jig and to holdsaid jig and said box onto said building member.
 2. A jig for mountingelectrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein said flexiblyresilient material is a metal.
 3. A jig for mounting electrical outletboxes according to claim 2 wherein said flexibly resilient material issteel.
 4. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim1 wherein said second side wall of said open loop section extends fromthe closed end thereof an amount substantially equal to a predetermineddistance said outlet box is to project out from said building member,and said alignment arm extends from adjacent an end of said second sidewall.
 5. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1wherein said first and second side walls of said open loop section, inan undistended condition, are closer together at the open end of saidloop than adjacent said closed end thereof.
 6. A jig for mountingelectrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein a first portion ofthe side wall of said open loop section from which said alignment armextends is, in an undistended condition, at less than a right angle tosaid closed end of said loop, and a second portion of said side wall isat an angle to said first portion away from the other of said sidewalls.
 7. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim1 which further comprises a tab section extending from the side wall ofsaid open loop section opposite said alignment arm substantially in theplane of said side wall.
 8. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxesaccording to claim 1 wherein said leg member is pivotally securedadjacent the end of said alignment arm opposite said open loop section.9. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1wherein said leg member is pivotally secured adjacent the end of saidalignment arm attached to said open loop section.